Prey and Predator
by RedactedIdentity
Summary: Lost in the open sea, Lanny comes beak-to-teeth with an orca, Kel. First fic. Image cover belongs to me.
1. When Everything Looks Normal

Chapter 1: When Everything Looks Normal

* * *

><p>It was basically a normal day on the snowy island of Club Penguin, with the same unmoving clouds wedged stuck in the blue sky and the same old monotonous weather that was typical of the island. Many various coloured penguins waddled along the forever snow-covered streets of the Town as they hooted and honked, trying to make themselves heard above the earsplitting din unsuccessfully. Hollers and screeches rose in a swarm of jumbled speech balloons.<p>

"Say 1, 2, 3 to have me!"

"Party at my igloo. BE THERE!"

"Meet me at the Dance Club!"

In the midst of this chaotic commotion, a turquoise penguin seated at the table placed in front of the Coffee Shop sipped lazily at her mug of extra creamy Java coffee. Looking serenely calm against the foreground of babbling mayhem, no one could detect the swirling thoughts behind those large jet black eyes. Only the occasional twitch of her flippers and tipping of her mug showed that she was not a real life statue put there for display.

"Oi Lanny!" A cheerful yell broke the azure female out of her reverie. The caller, a young dark green penguin, waddled over to her side and seated himself at the opposite table.

"Sup Larry," she greeted her other twin back with an acknowledging nod. "When is Linny hopping in?"

Larry fished out the box of sea food pizza he had made in the Pizza Parlor kitchen and offered her a piece before replying. Lanny didn't hesitate as she helped herself to a generous piece of cheesy goodness. Larry wasn't called the Best Chef for nothing.

"Don't think she's coming anytime soon. I saw her at the Stage."

There was a silence as both siblings knew what that meant. Their youngest sister must have gotten so carried away with her soaring acting career that she had totally forgotten that it was the trio's "sib time". Again.

Lanny stuffed the remaining half of her pizza into her beak contently and absent-mindedly washed it down with the last of her coffee. Her face scrunched up at the weird taste.

"Workaholic," she muttered as she recovered from the unpleasant aftertaste lingering on her taste buds.

"T.W.O.P," her brother added after a brief silence.

"What's that?"

"Totally-Work-Obsessed-Penguin."

"Nice one."

Silence drifted around them like a smoky wreath. Lanny let out a sigh that dispersed the comfortable pause between them.

"Well she'd better not forget that it's her turn today to look after the Triplets and take them out for their walk."

"So what we gonna do now?" Larry asked his twin, packing the pizza box to be taken and deposited into the Recycle Chute.

"Looks like we'll have to change it to another day. We'll meet tomorrow in the Book Room for a wild round of crazy mancala," Lanny suggested as she headed into the Coffee Shop to return the mug with Larry trailing after her. "And whoever loses will have to pay for a pizza feast," she added smugly. Larry gazed back at her confidently, a grin on his beak as he accepted the challenge.

"Well, I know that it won't be me."

"Watch me make you eat back your words tomorrow then," Lanny chuckled. "And remember to tell Linny when you go past the Stage. See ya!"

"Sure I will. Cheers!"

They gave each other a farewell flipper smack and then departed ways. Yet on an unknown impulse, Larry looked back, catching the last glimpse of Lanny's back as she most probably headed for the Cove to go surfing before she was obscured by the busy jam-packed crowd.

It had never crossed his mind, as he entered the Gift Shop, that it might be the last he would see his sibling in a very long time…

* * *

><p>*End*<p>

Author's note:

Ok, there's my first chapter. I'm really nervous about it…

What do you think? Is Lanny too, um, boyish a name for my main character? Do they seem too unnatural?

I haven't gone on CP for quite a few months now, so if there are any major changes in Club Penguin, I'm completely clueless…

Please review and give me some constructive criticism! =)

*The Triplets are the puffles they (Lanny, Larry, and Linny) own and take turns to care for.

Additional after-note: (1/06/2012)

Silvers45 has recommended that I align the text to the left, instead of the center, which I usually do because my sentences barely form paragraphs.(And it's one of my weird habits =w=;) Here goes...!


	2. Out To Sea

_**Chapter 2: Out to Sea**_

_**Lanny's POV**_

* * *

><p>The jet pack guy (nicknamed Jet Wave) had dropped me on a breaker a bit further off than I was used to. Not that it was a problem or anything, but the distant outline of C.P. had always somehow been a reassuring form as I surfed. Now I could even barely catch a glimpse of land.<p>

Oh well.

Taking my mind of that matter, I began to zip up and down on the wave. Heck, I was no expert surfer, but that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the sensation of the salty wind rushing over my outstretched flippers and take pleasure from the feeling of the sea spray whipping up from my heart pumped crazily as the powerful wave curled its fist, forming a watery, moving tunnel around me.

So wild, so strong, so fierce and so natural, like a ferocious beast roaring and tearing across the surface of the sea, I thought. Yet it could never grab the lithe butterfly flitting just out of its grasp, cutting across its face.

This point of view particularly thrilled my water loving nature as I stuck out a flipper to touch the liquid walls before darting out of the collapsing fist, the monster bellowing with frustration behind my back. I did a few stunts before diving steeply and abruptly shooting up in to the air with a few flips. A shrill whoop of exhilaration escaped as my world tumbled dizzyingly in circles, gravity trying its best to claim me back from the sky. Hastily I steadied myself just in time to hit, bounce and skim along the crest and avoid falling off.

Wait a second…

My red surfboard began to wobble dangerously, tipping backwards as an unknown force yanked at it. It immediately dawned on me that the 'edge' must have caught up while I was doing my flips. Now it was too late to break away.

"Eek! " I managed to shriek before the waters sucked me in and proceeded to swirl me in circles like I was a T-shirt in a washing machine.

The sea had finally caught its prey.

By the time I emerged from my giddy ordeal, I had probably swallowed a whole barrel of sea water, which wasn't exactly pleasant in the least. Spitting out a beakful of salty water, I gathered what remained of my conked out wits and stared around at my unfamiliar environment.

No…

Oh sweet crab in the name of blasted polar bears.

Well...I had absolutely no idea where I was. All I could see was blue, blue and blue; nothing else but blue. Blue sky, blue sea, that's all. Not even a wisp of a frozen stuck cloud.

I was truly and wonderfully lost.

*End*

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

A bit short, I know...

Don't worry, the better parts are coming along!

Please review!


	3. On the Menu

_**Chapter 3: On the Menu**_

* * *

><p>Anxiously I stared into the azure sky desperately for a suspicious speck that might hopefully be Jet Wave coming to my rescue. Nothing showed up in the sky.<p>

"Maybe he is busy because a lot of penguins are surfing, and there aren't enough helping flippers," I said out loud to assure myself.

"Or perhaps he ran out of fuel and he was just quickly refilling. Or…"

Panic shot up my fear-o-meter and surged over the top in an uncontrollable tsunami. It had suddenly occurred to me that I might be drifting in the sea for hours or even days before someone would find me. By then I wouldn't…be exactly in top condition, right? And to make it even worse, there might be sharks lurking around for lunch! A penguin randomly floating in their territory might just be the ideal and easy meal for the day. I shuddered and clambered onto my surfboard that I had thankfully clung to. Briefly, I contemplated my dire situation. There wasn't any wave that could guide me back to Club Penguin Island, and I could feel an extremely freezing underwater current boosting me a ride to the middle of nowhere. Miserably, I stared off into the empty horizon, letting fate take its toll on me and whisk me off to the unknown.

* * *

><p>I must have zoned out somehow and had miraculously managed to sit balanced on my board without falling off because when I cracked open my heavy eyelids, I began squawking hoarsely with joy. An enormous, sparkling, iceberg greeted my eyes in the late afternoon sunlight. I paddled closer clumsily, and tried to clamber onto floating 'land'. Not so easy. After a good long five minutes of unsuccessful climbing and slipping down its high edge, I crumpled into an exhausted pile on my surfboard. Heck, this was even more challenging than rescuing a stupid puffle that somehow stranded itself on a block of ice.<p>

So how could I get up there?

I stared at the ledge thoughtfully.

Come on, THINK!

No good ideas came up.

My tired brain slowly ground to a stop until I was no longer staring at the iceberg thoughtfully, but blankly.

Uh…

Suddenly the feathers on my back bristled with a chill that screamed a warning.

I turned around.

Something's not right…

My eyes scanned over a seemingly harmless scene.

Then I saw it: a massive black form underwater ducking beneath the cover of the iceberg.

The chill in my spine turned into an ice block.

Oh darned yarn.

Judging from the glimpse I caught, that thing was bigger than the meanest, feather-chasing shark I dreamt up in my Top 5 Biggest Fears list.

Ah, I really need to get up on the iceberg now!

A fraction of a second later, the water imploded beneath me and I was sent flying high into the sky without the help of a jet pack.

"Aaaaahh—OOMPH!"

Wish granted, I slammed bodily onto the hard surface of the iceberg.

The impact almost knocked me out cold.

But I couldn't afford to black out with a monster after me.

I struggled back up again and looked around with a

some-what blurry vision.

The monster had disappeared.

It was preparing for Round 2.

A tall, black dorsal fin rose and cut through the water's surface silently.

I gulped and steadied myself, eyes never leaving the form until it dipped into the blue depths again.

1…2…3…4…5…seconds passed.

I don't like this at all.

A small splash to the left.

My head immediately snapped in the direction of the sound, but it had already gone.

Another explosion of water.

I jerked myself around just in time to see the massive creature lunging towards me as it slid across the ice.

Desperately I threw myself out of the way from its great jaws.

The monster vanished into the water on the other side of the iceberg_**.**_

It was by more luck than skill that I managed to dodge the next two assaults in the same manner.

Just when I thought I could handle it, the creature did something unexpected. As it was sailing past again, jaws clamping on empty air, it lashed out its tail with a well-timed twist and swatted me right off the iceberg.

I cannonballed into the freezing water.

This was bad.

I got thrown into the air once more.

The monster leapt right up at me while I was still in mid-air. There was nothing I could do to avoid it now.

I stared into its gaping maw as I fell into it.

Its jaw clamped shut.

I was imprisoned in its dark cavern of a mouth, sliding down its tongue towards the road of no return.

Shrimp, I'm going to be swallowed alive! I didn't even get the chance to scream.

_Goodbye, sweet, cruel life…_

And then it spat me out.

*End*

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Please review and tell me what you think!

Btw, I made a clay sculpture of Lanny and Kel. You can see it on my avatar. ^w^


	4. Meeting Kel

_Author's little thank note:_

_Thank you, Smiley, for being my first 'reviewer'! Your review gave me a great boost of encouragement. (I was so elated that I jumped around the room like a lunatic and my mom gave me a weird look XD) I hope that my story won't be a disappointment for you. ^_^ Please enjoy~_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong>

**Meeting Kel**

* * *

><p>"Tag, you're it."<p>

Dimly, I heard a playful voice chirrup into my ear as I gasped for air.

"What?" I croaked with confusion. What's going on? Did I pass out from playing tag? Why was I playing tag anyway?

I rolled onto my side and bumped my beak on something.

My eyes slowly opened.

My beak was right against the monster's jaw.

It took me a full ten seconds to clear my shock-paralyzed mind and take hold of the situation.

"Yikes!" I screeched, sat up and backpedalled away.

The massive creature somehow found that funny and laughed in a series of musical whistles and clicks.

Such a beautiful sound didn't seem fitting on a monster, I thought involuntarily and then mentally slapped myself.

It wanted to eat me!

I panicked again and put as much distance between me and those evil teeth belonging to the monster lying on the edge of the iceberg.

"Hey, calm down. I was just playing," it called after me.

"You were about to EAT ME!" I yelled back a hysterical reply from the other side of the iceberg.

"I won't now."

"Don't believe you."

Another ripple of laughter.

"I've never seen a blue penguin before..." it mused.

"You'll probably taste of the sky, so that's my reason for not eating you."

"Oh really?"

"Yip."

In the short lapse that followed, it eyed me critically.

"Are you a freak?"

I put on a shocked face.

"No! I am NOT a freak, thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

It beamed a radiant smile at me.

"My name's Kel. What's yours?"

"I'm Lanny," I answered, still a bit distrustful, but I could sense the hostile ice between us melting away.

Unable to hold myself back, I blurted a question that had been on my mind for some time now.

"W-what are you?"

And immediately, I regretted it.

Kel didn't seem to mind how lame I sounded.

"I'm a killer whale," he replied brightly.

"You're a whale?" I thought of the picture of the blue whale I saw once in a book.

"Not exactly."

I paused.

"You're a killer...?" I asked in an awed stage-whisper.

"Exactly." He shot me another charming grin.

I gulped.

"Don't worry; you're not in my favorite food group," he assured soothingly, "I prefer seals and big fishes."

Whew! I'm glad that I'm not a seal, whatever they are.

"Speaking about seals, I think I'll go pop by and give them a surprise visit." Kel ran a pink tongue over those fearsome teeth hungrily. "Will you still be here some time later?"

"Yeah," I drawled hesitantly. It's not like I could go anywhere, I added to myself quietly.

"I'll be back then. Bye!"

And with that, he heaved himself around, jerked his tail violently and fell into the water with a splash.

I'm also hungry.

My stomach grumbled a grumpy complaint.

I did my best to ignore it.

How much time had passed as I sat at the edge of the iceberg?

I have no idea. Two hours, maybe?

The sun was alarmingly low.

(Hake and sole, I think it can MOVE!)

Hunger raked its claws down my insides, making me wince.

My brain had worn down to a mere record on repeat, going over stuff dozens of times, but getting nowhere at all.

I'm REALLY hungry.

_Larry makes mouth-watering pizzas._

_Mmm, hot sauce and cheese..._

_Kel likes eating seals._

_He almost ate me._

_Oh Puff-O's, did I say I was HUNGRY?_

_I've got no food._

_..._

_Is this ice edible?_

Just when I decided to give the ice a try, Kel popped up again.

"Want to go for a dive with me?" He chirruped, leaning his immense head against the ledge.

I glanced at him dully with bloodshot eyes.

"I can't," I croaked flatly. Because my surfboard is gone, and it's all your fault, I grumbled inside.

Gray hovered at the edges of my vision and I swayed.

Kel slapped his tail on the sea, splashing me with water.

The freezing shower woke me up effectively.

"What's wrong? You look ill," Kel asked after he was convinced I wasn't going to pass out, slightly anxious.

"Starving," I managed to whisper faintly.

"Wait. I'll go get something for you."

He came back pretty soon and dumped a large fish on the ice.

I watched as it beat and struggle vainly back to the sea, only to be blocked by Kel.

It looked like a colourful version of those carnivorous brown fishes I saw in Aqua Grabber.

"It's too big." I remarked glumly.

"Oh. Sorry. I'll get you a smaller one."

Kel scooped it up into his jaws and gulped it down alive.

I would have felt nauseous at the sight, if I wasn't so hungry.

The second (reasonably smaller) fish was gleaming silver.

"ThanksK" I said weakly.

"Go on. Eat it." Kel encouraged.

But I couldn't eat it, not when it was still flopping around for its life.

"If you don't like it alive," Kel suggested slowly when he saw my face go green, "I can knock it out for you."

He grabbed the fish by the tail, tossed it up really high and let it smack against the icy surface.

"There you go."

He nudged the fish towards me gently.

It was very, very dead, by the looks of it.

"Isn't there a way to cook it?" I inquired uneasily.

Kel looked puzzled.

"From where I come from, we cook our food before eating it," I explained lamely.

"You WHAT your food?"

The expression on his face was comical. The right word to describe it would be aghast.

"Never mind," I mumbled, realizing how futile it was to tell someone who lived full-time in water about fire.

Kel shook off his mortification.

"Lanny, from where you are now, you're going to have to eat it the way it is," he said mildly.

Yes, I know. I have to eat it raw, innards, brains and all.

"I can't," I protested.

That was when Kel got irritated. And he had got every right to be.

He was hunting up fishes, doing more for me than I deserved, but here I am, being an ungrateful, picky and difficult, little grumpy brat.

**"Lanny."**

Kel suddenly dropped his voice real low and dark.

**"_Eat_ the _pricking fish_, or I will_ bite you_."**

The gleam in his eye told me that this wasn't an empty threat.

I cheeped with fear.

*End*

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Make me happy, and I'll do my best to update faster! ^^

PLEASE PRESS THE BUTTON BELOW, SAY SOMETHING AND MAKE A GIRL'S DAY! XD

(The reason why this story is rated T is because of Kel and his eating habits 0_0)

Pricking fish as in freaking or frikking fish lol


	5. Let's Eat!

Chapter 5:

Let's Eat!

* * *

><p>Kel gnashed his teeth together menacingly.<p>

"Okay! Okay!" I yelped, "I'll eat the fish!"

I hurriedly hooked a flipper around the slimy body of the fish and held it in front of my beak.

Kel watched me so intensely that I trembled under his searing gaze.

I can do this…probably.

I scrunched up my face and stuffed the fish head-first into my beak.

Then the thought occurred to me that the fish's eyes were wide open and it was on my tongue.

A wave of horrified disgust hit me hard.

"Blughhh!" I half-puked out the fish.

"I'm sorry! I can't do it yet." I blurted miserably, expecting him to bite my head off, but Kel seemed to have recovered from the brief eclipse that shadowed him earlier. He merely sank back into the water until only the tip of his mouth was visible, immersed in thought.

It was my turn to watch him as he emerged again and propped his head on the ledge.

"What was the last thing that you ate?" He asked slowly.

"Pizza," I drooled, recalling the steaming, freshly-made seafood dish Larry had given me earlier today.

"Try thinking pizza, pizza, pizza while you eat the fish then,"

Kel suggested helpfully.

A look of bewilderment stole into his eyes.

"What's pizza? A kind of fish?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Oh. Anyway, give it a second try."

Inhaling deeply, I picked up the fish.

_I can…no, I MUST eat it! Heh, it's no big deal. _

_I can handle it._

_Yeah…_

_I crammed it in before I could start hesitating too much._

_Don't think about it._

_Swallow, swallow, and swallow!_

_The fish…aarrghh!_

_Pizza!__Describe pizza:__A doughy disc of a world, with red lava sauce beneath the rolling hills of cheese that was dotted here and there rivers of seaweed and giantbaby squid monsters prowling around. The grayfishes…yikes! Not that!_

_I am the Worldchower! I bite into the lands and rip it in into shreds. The crust of the world gives way, red lava doesn't burn me, the cheesy hills offer no resistance. The shrimp cities don't even stand a chance! I slurp up the seaweed rivers and __devour the squid monsters._

_Ooh, yummy, scrumplicious, delightful…_

_Just **s**_**wallow**!

And the fish slid down.

I felt it travel to my stomach.

"Hey, you did it!"

Kel crowed happily.

"I did it?"

There was a faint salty taste on my tongue.

My insides didn't feel so empty anymore.

It wasn't too bad, provided you don't think too much.

I grinned at Kel gleefully.

"I ate my first whole fish!"

"Victory spin!"Kel whistled.

He hoisted himself onto the ice, nudged me onto his 'nose', backed up, fell into the sea, and span around in circles on his tail with me clinging on to him, screaming with thrilled fright.

By the time he set me down, I was breathless with dizziness.

"Wow! That was incredible!" I fell onto my back with laughter.

Kel resumed his chin-leaning against the verge of the iceberg, smiling.

I sat up during the silence.

"Just a question out of curiosity: did you really mean the threat just now?" I asked, and added hastily, "Not that I'm holding anything against you."

"Yes." Kel dropped his gaze and looked at the ice in front of him. Just when I thought he wasn't going to speak again, he did.

"Anything to make you eat." He did the orca equivalent of a shrug, which was like rolling to one side slightly.

"But I don't get it. Why try so hard to get me to eat? I would have done that later, when I'm SUPER desperate."

"It's a weird belief I have." This time Kel rolled to the other side with a cute embarrassed expression on his large face. "When I see my friends eat, I don't worry as much."

"Worry? Why?"

"There was a really severe winter two cycles ago…" He started softly, and then paused.

"Go on." I encouraged.

"I saw lots of creatures starve to death that season."

Another pause. He turned away, as if he didn't want me to see the flicker of anguish on his face_**.**_

"One of them was my best friend."

Kel whispered bluntly.

I was speechless.

"Uh, ouch. I mean….oh geez," I trailed off awkwardly.

Comforting others had never been one of my strong points.

"It's fine."

"Thank you for treating me as a friend," was all I could say.

Kel turned back to me, sunshine mood switched on again.

"Why are you here by yourself? I thought penguins go around in groups."

"I'm stranded here."

"Oh, I remember. You said you couldn't swim."

"Yeah."

"I could help you go back home."

"Really?" I lit up like a firework.

"Yip. So in which direction is your home?"

The firework fizzled out.

"I don't know."

"Then how are you going to go back?"

Another "I don't know."

"Aren't you supposed to have instincts that point you back?"

"Unfortunately, I don't. I only have a map, which I left behind. And even if I had it, that's not going to do anything helpful, not this far out."

A cloud of gloom and doom settled over me.

Kel looked at me. I looked at him.

"Oh no…"

*End*

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Thanks to Silvers45 and Smiley for reviewing! (^w^)V

*On a break from P&P ...=.= (I am rewriting most of this from the older version of P&P, The Prey and the Predator, but now I've reached the end of the line...and I have to think up new stuff 0_0) So sorry to keep you waiting! T.T Please don't hate me~

(in the meanwhile you can read my other story, that is, if you want to) (._.)


	6. Filler Chapter: The Other Two Siblings

Author's note:

Having been threatened by JustWantedToSayHey's review on another story, here's a chapter that deals with Larry and Linny during the time poor Lanny's getting swirled arounnd by the sea.

_The concept of Them is purely something I threw in so that I could force myself to write this chapter and not to be taken seriously._

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Filler Chapter:<strong>

**The Other Two Siblings**

* * *

><p>Larry, or as his full name, Larry (Terence) Shandon, leaned back and regarded the glowing screen solemnly. Below, the music pounded away on the dance floor like the constant heartbeat of the building.<p>

"Oh bother," he exhaled with quiet frustration when he saw his name in second place, just a few points before Rawrwin920, and still some way to Genii4us, who had been dominating the first place in ALL of the arcade games for a week now. There were still thirty minutes, more or less, before he had to go back to the Pizza Parlor for the dinner shift, but he decided against a second shot. Right now the idea of cart surfing looked rather appealing. He waddled down the stairs.

Out of the blue, a blast of nausea hit him. It didn't last long, thankfully, but it left him hanging on the rail with a death grip as he tried not to puke all over the place.

"What the h– Lanny?"

Through the mental bond that held them together, Larry could sense distress emitting from his sister's side. After a second of terror rolling down the line, it dimmed with alarming speed and snapped abruptly. Grogginess got replace by gripping anxiety.

He rushed down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Linny (Elva) Shandon was currently working in the Gift Shop. Of course, her previous performance had brought her an impressive amount of money, but it wasn't enough for what she had in mind. So meanwhile the writers were trying to bust the art block, she was content to work here. It could get pretty boring at times, but occasionally there were …robberies.<p>

Like this one.

A brown penguin wearing a pirate bandanna and those glasses with the fake nose and beard that Linny found rather offensive to the eye walked in and yelled.

"I'M ROBBING THIS PLACE!"

Some of the penguins waddled out. A vein of Linny's pink forehead throbbed. There goes some potential customers and the money I could have earned, she thought. The remaining four penguins gave him a look and resumed browsing around.

The penguin ran over to Linny.

"HAND THE MONEY OVER!"

More penguins left.

Linny's temper slipped another notch.

"Please go away," she said flatly.

"NO WAY! I'M TAKING THE MONEY!"

Oh my flipper slap, Linny groaned mentally.

The penguin shoved her to the side.

"TAKES MONEY!" He screeched. "TAKES MONEY! HAR HAR HARRRR!"

Linny's temper snapped. Her day's income was in danger, and, nobody was going to stand between **_her and her money,_** not this idiot of a robber, or anyone else for the matter.

"**TAKE YOUR DISGUSTING FLIPPERS OFF MY MONEY**," she exploded.

"NO WAY! I'M TAKING THE MONEY!"

"**TAKE THIS THEN!**"

Linny planted her flippers around the cash machine, heaved it up, and was about to bring it down on the robber's head when the robber finally knew that no one messes with this fearsome she-penguin and her precious money. He bolted. The unfortunate penguin reached the door and promptly got slammed into the wall as a distraught Larry flung the door open right in his face.

"Linny! Lanny's gone!"

Linny glanced at the dazed penguin on the floor, shrugged, and put the machine back on the counter. She dusted off her flippers coolly.

"What do you mean?" The pink penguin popped the drawer open and checked if the coins were okay.

"She's GONE, Linny."

"Penguins can't just disappear."

"Check for yourself."

Linny grudgingly took out her buddy list device and tapped on Lanny's name.

"You're just over-reacting—oh gosh."

The screen read:

(?)

"See?"

"See."

They looked at each other.

"What now?" Linny asked uneasily.

"We could, you know, ask one of _Them_…" Larry suggested, but gulped.

"Oh, not _Them_," Linny moaned, "They give me the creeps."

"Let's just give it a try before we report this."

"You go."

"And you're coming with."

* * *

><p>There were <em>things<em> that cropped up on Club Penguin Island that were unnatural. Where these entities came from is a complete mystery, and those that met them never had the guts to ask. Their purpose is unknown, and it would seem like they were rather secretive, because they never talked until you asked them something (and get the fright of your life) and they always haunted the rooms that were less popular. Somehow, these things always escaped the Authorities' attention, but they were not invisible to average penguins, except that most penguins never gave them a second look. Lanny did though, and that's how she discovered their uncanny knack of knowing what everyone was up to.

Even Herbert P. Bear.

* * *

><p>The siblings climbed down the ladder and scanned around the Pool thoroughly. The room was empty.<p>

"Not here," Linny remarked apprehensively.

"Check the Boiler Room. I'll peek in the Cave."

They waddled to both ends, and nervously peeped into the other rooms.

"Not here."

"Not here either."

They turned back.

"For the love of pizzas," Larry cried out.

Linny almost screamed.

A penguin that hadn't been there was sitting in the Pool right at the very corner, its navy blue back facing them.

"Come on…"

Filled with dread, Larry jumped into the pool, dragging a paralyzed Linny behind him.

"Hey," he called out in a trembling voice.

The figure didn't move.

He waded closer.

Linny whimpered.

He tapped it on the shoulder, scrunched his face and breathed its name with foreboding.

"Gemstone." (pronounced Zwem Stoon)

Larry felt his flipper land on a solid surface, before it flaked away and beneath the fake skin was …dark emptiness.

He snatched his flipper back hurriedly.

Gem spun around slowly, still in sitting position.

_[Ask]_

it said in a voice that had three different notes in it, as if it was singing its own dreadful song and harmonizing at the same time.

Larry tried to hold back his horror. Linny had wisely turned her head away.

The penguin's eyes were completely black and wide and **staring**. Lanny looked hard at the spot above its head. He was convinced that if he gazed too long into those endless depths, those black-hole eyes would consume his mind, and he would be taking a one-way trip to the Land of Insanity.

"My sister, Lanny," he gasped," Where is she?"

It smiled slowly.

Oh gar, those awful jagged teeth looks as if it would like to have my soul for breakfast, Larry found himself thinking.

_[She is playing a deadly game]_

"What game?"

_[The game of survival]_

"Where is she?"

_[Far past the borderlines of the tamed sea] _

Larry struggled on the inside with his confusion, but withheld any stupid questions. He only had a limited amount of questions that Gemstone would answer before vanishing.

"Can I help her out?"

_[You must realize, featherling, that she is beyond your grasp]_

Its amused laugh echoed around the rock walls, a horrific sound like the screaming of the tormented and the glee of the tormentor combined. The lights in the room flickered erratically.

_[Forget her; she might be gone for eternity]_

And it just imploded into non-existence.

A short silence.

Then other penguins walked in, laughing and talking.

Everything returned to normal.

None of the penguins noticed the duo shivering mournfully in the pool.

*End*

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I'm sorry that I cannot update fast. My family and I are moving, and there are things to pack… =w= hehe

What's with the middle names?

Because some (dafter) penguins get confused or tongue-tied on the rather similar names Lanny, Larry and Linny and the triplets just got so sick of it, they've added 'middle names' and never wear the same colour, unless they are pulling a prank.

Lanny: Agnes

Larry: Terance

Linny: Elva

(The A. T. E. lol.)

Actually, it's just a pitiful excuse for my obsession of playing around with names...

Please review and you get to find out what's happening with Lanny and Kel sooner! X3


	7. To Journey or Not to Journey?

I'm still moving and packing, but the idea that people are waiting for me to update freaks me out when I'm trying to sleep at night, so here's a short chapter... thank you for the reviews.

In reply to Silvers45:

_The reason (most of it anyway) why I put THEM in the previous chapter is because I'm celebrating. My mom has found the long-lost exam pad in which I wrote stories (the previous version of **Prey and Predator** included ='D) and on the first page is the story of the Glitch Goddess, an entity that roams around in the virtual world and rips though program codes, wrecking havoc, blah blah blah and so forth( not exactly original, I know). So I suppose the idea of THEM is linked to the Glitch Goddess. And in order to force myself to update, I had to throw THEM in so that I would feel interested enough to write the chapter._

Enjoy~

* * *

><p>Chapter Six:<p>

To Journey Or Not To Journey

* * *

><p>I felt like sitting down and bawling my eyes out.<p>

The realization that I might not ever see my home and my siblings again had just hit me as hard as a 'Kel's-tail-swipe', but I tried to keep my face set in stone, or else I would go into hysterics.

Kel eyed my twitching flipper skeptically.

"If you don't know how to get home," he offered, "You can travel with me until by some chance we pass your place again."

"Travel to where?"

"Anywhere. Around the Ocean, wherever the currents take us, to where the whales go and mysteries dwell."

I managed a small smile.

"How poetic of you."

"I'm serious." Kel stated solemnly, and then trilled with laughter.

"I mean, really! If you want to, I can take you to see the whales and let you hear the songs they sing. After that we can go to the Ultramarine where some pretty mysterious creatures live. Oh, and the Sparkling Coral Reef, too, that's a big must-go-to when embarking on a journey. That's where most of the craziest-looking and beautiful fish are, along with some amazing seascapes. There are many sights and wonders in the ocean that will leave you breathless." Kel's eyes sparkled and I guess mine did too, because I was enraptured by the magic of his words and the prospect they held.

"We could have an adventure," he breathed excitedly, "Go see spooky places, meet fantastic creatures, stuff like that. I've always wanted to go on a journey, but it's always better to have a companion, a friend to go with," Then he hesitated slightly and softened his tone.

"I know that there's no place like home, but think. This is probably the only chance that you'll get to see the whole Ocean with your own eyes. With me."

During the short silence, I stared at him thoughtfully for a long time and he met my gaze with hope in his eyes. Decisions like this terrified me. But when I thought about it again, I realized, darn, I have no choice. It was either going with Kel or staying on this iceberg and meeting an unpleasant end. And of course, I'd choose the former. Yet something still held me back. The thought of how puny the chance of finding home again in a massive ocean is and having no idea in which direction Club Penguin lay, not even the vaguest, told me that hoping to get back in a short time was like trying to hammer a blunt nail into a wood board with a downy feather.

Then Kel spoke up.

"Lanny," he said my name in that voice that could make your insides so warm and mushy that you could have it as steaming hot chocolate with marshmallows included.

"Do you want to be my partner for this journey?"

I straightened up, put my gloom behind because I realized moping around now was useless, and started smiling.

"Yes, I do."

And so it began, the journey of my life around the Ocean with this killer whale as my guide and friend.

***End**

* * *

><p><span>They're engaged.<span>

Kel has just proposed when he asked Lanny to be his _partner_, and Lanny has just said those three words, **"Yes, I do."**

You must congratulate them. *looks serious

LOL. Not really.

Kel's a really charming whale. If he needed to, he could make a stone statue blush just by looking at it innocently. That's how much charisma he's been gifted with. And, crikey, if he got turned into a human, he'd be flat out lethal. XD Swag. But luckily, he has got a good, genuine heart, or he'll be making all the ladies fall on their faces.

Please review!


End file.
